BOSTON — On days where the Red Sox offense isn’t scoring runs in bunches, Wednesday offered a blueprint for how the club can win games anyway.

Timely home runs? Check. A dominant starting pitching performance? Check. Clean games by both the defense and bullpen? Check and check.

All of the ingredients were there for the Red Sox in Wednesday...Read more

NEW YORK — The Citi Field trainer’s room has been crowded all season, and there is little reprieve halfway into May. The New York Mets placed catcher Francisco Alvarez on the 10-day injured list Wednesday afternoon with a torn meniscus in his right knee. The injury will require surgery, which typically carries a timeline of 6-8 weeks, but ...Read more

CHICAGO — A fan fell into the visiting bullpen during the top of the fourth inning of Wednesday’s Chicago White Sox game against the Kansas City Royals at Rate Field.

The game was paused as Sox personnel attended to the fan.

“The fan has been transported to a local hospital for additional treatment,” the Sox said in a statement.

____

PITTSBURGH — Mitch Keller couldn’t have had a better four innings. It would have been tough to have had a worse fifth.

Keller retired the first 12 batters he faced before allowing six runs in the fifth inning, sending the Pirates to a 10-4 loss to the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday night at PNC Park. The game was delayed 26 minutes due to ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Jackson Olson made no secret of his desire to compete on "Dancing with the Stars."

He plays second base for the lively Savannah Bananas, so dancing is already part of his job description.

He is also a social media influencer with 2.1 million TikTok followers and hasn't been shy about using the platform to campaign for his dream...Read more

MIAMI — The Marlins have lost one of their top pitching prospects just one start into his big league career.

Left-hander Robby Snelling, who allowed three runs in five innings of his big league debut against Washington last Friday, is out indefinitely after sustaining a UCL sprain in his left elbow. He is expected to be out for an extended ...Read more

CLEVELAND — Considering the two stops on this trip and the way the Los Angeles Angels have played lately, it should be no surprise what happened.

The Angels ended their miserable six-game trip with a 4-2 loss to the Cleveland Guardians on Wednesday, getting swept in the three games.

The Angels have now lost 29 of their last 33 games in ...Read more

ORLANDO, Fla. — For years, the late, great Pat Williams wandered through Orlando like a baseball preacher without a congregation.

The co-founder of the Magic and the godfather of big league sports in Central Florida spent the final years of his life trying to convince politicians, business leaders and the community that Orlando was ready for ...Read more

SACRAMENTO — It didn’t take long for the Cardinals, ever so cozy and comfortable in these close games they keep creating, to go right back to their four-step recipe for holding leads in the late innings.

Two days after San Diego capsized Cardinals closer Riley O’Brien and won in extra innings, O’Brien was on the mound with a two-run ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — With Daniel Susac nearing his return from injury, a significant decision looms for the Giants: Do they carry veteran backstop Eric Haase along with Susac and Jesús Rodríguez? On Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium, Haase provided two loud reasons to stay — and etched his name into rivalry lore in the process.

Haase powered San ...Read more

HOUSTON — For the Seattle Mariners, a lot to like here on a night when they once again held down their longtime nemesis in a rousing 10-2 victory over the Houston Astros.

Dominic Canzone belted the first grand slam of his career, Randy Arozarena had his best game in an M’s uniform and Bryan Woo retired the final 12 batters he faced to send ...Read more

CHICAGO — Royals manager Matt Quatraro had the bullpen set up the way he wanted Tuesday night in Chicago, but sometimes things don’t go as planned in baseball.

Left-handed reliever Matt Strahm was on the mound in a tie game in the eighth inning at Rate Field. He got the first two outs but White Sox pinch-hitter Derek Hill clubbed 1-1 slider...Read more

MILWAUKEE — In what might have been Matt Waldron’s final game pitching for the San Diego Padres, he threw far fewer knuckleballs than he ever had.

As strange as that was, his outing was all too familiar.

It began wobbly, and it crumbled in his third inning on a handful of hits, a walk, a sacrifice fly, a bit of bad luck and his blunder, as...Read more

NEW YORK — A few months ago, few could have predicted the Detroit Tigers and the Mets would both have losing records 40 games into the season. The matchup lost much of its shine with Tigers ace Tarik Skubal on the injured list and half of the Mets’ lineup there as well, but it mattered little to the Citi Field fans who desperately wanted to ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — On the morning after the Lakers got swept out of the playoffs and the Dodgers lost their fourth consecutive game, Magic Johnson flashed his trademark smile and stepped to the podium to talk soccer.

"The world's game is coming to the greatest city in the world," Johnson said Tuesday.

In Los Angeles, Johnson joined in a ...Read more

PITTSBURGH — Another day, another Paul Skenes gem.

Less than a week after he held the Arizona Diamondbacks scoreless through eight innings, he did the same Tuesday night in a 3-1 win against the Colorado Rockies at PNC Park.

Skenes hurled eight innings of two-hit ball while allowing no walks and striking out 10. He struck out the side three ...Read more

BALTIMORE — The Orioles won Monday on an Earl Weaver special. They lost Tuesday because of his wise words.

“Momentum is the next day’s starting pitcher.”

The myth of momentum was on full display Tuesday in Baltimore’s 6-2 loss to the Yankees. The Orioles quickly squandered any positive vibes from Monday’s comeback victory that ...Read more

BOSTON — On the first swing of his first at-bat Tuesday night in this ancient ballpark, Kyle Schwarber tied a record for a franchise that has existed for 144 seasons.

Yet somehow he was upstaged.

Because as Schwarber elbowed his way into the Phillies’ history book by homering in his fifth game in a row, Zack Wheeler almost went back to a ...Read more